Mark 9:2-10

SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT – YEAR B

Mark 9:2-10

 

A good Sunday for everyone. 

As every year, on the second Sunday of Lent, the story of the transfiguration of Jesus is proposed to us; this year we will have the version according to Mark, which we find in the three synoptic Gospels. It is a very well-known text and very dear to the Christians who thought of setting the scene on Mount Tabor, where the transfiguration of Jesus would take place. 

The Gospel text does not speak of Mount Tabor; it speaks of a high mountain, and we'll see that it's not a material mountain but a biblical mountain because the evangelists use the language and biblical imagery to communicate his message. We are going to try to understand these images and then grasp the message for our life. The interpretation that is given to this narrative is usually that Jesus privileged three of his disciples, perhaps the best he had, and took them to the mountain, where he showed them a vision of paradise. If things were on these terms, we might be very envious of Peter, James, and John, but this event would not have much to say about our lives. 

Let's say it right away: it's not a page of chronicle; it's a catechetical text written to nourish the faith of the first Christian communities and also ours. This narration wants to present the way that the disciples went through to understand the identity of their Master; and all three evangelists aim to make us walk that way, which is difficult to understand and then even more difficult to practice, which is to follow the Master, to have the same experience that the three of them had on the mountain. In simple words, if we do not come like the three apostles to see the transfigured face of the Master, we cannot follow him in his life proposal and how he prepares us for that task. 

Let's listen to the context in which the evangelist Mark places this story. It's very important to put it in context, and in fact, the evangelist expressly reminds us of its significance. Let's listen to it: 

 

"After six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.” 

 

"After six days” – this is a clear invitation by the evangelist to go and verify what happened six days earlier, as if to say, 'If you want to understand what I'm going to tell you, you have to go and see what happened six days before.' It had happened that in answer to a question of the Master, Peter had said, "You are the Christ," you are the Messiah, expected for centuries in Israel. And Jesus had not denied Peter's answer, and so the apostles were immediately filled with great enthusiasm; they thought, 'Now we too will begin to succeed, to be somebody in this world.' But Jesus had gone on to say, "The Son of Man must suffer much, to be rejected by the elders, by the chief priests, by the scribes, to be put to death, to be killed and after three days will rise again.” And immediately afterward, he had added: 'If anyone wants to follow the same way as me, stop thinking of yourself, take up your cross, and follow me, for if anyone wants to keep his life for himself, he will lose it; if instead, he stakes his life on my proposal and the Gospel; he saves it.' The enthusiasm of the apostles must have cooled down immediately; in the name of all, Peter had reacted and said: 'This cannot happen.' because the Torah says that God curses the person condemned to death.' 

When Mark writes his Gospel in the years 68 to 70, immediately after the persecution of Nero, the Christian communities were wounded but still very much alive. The great difficulty, the great impediment to adhere to Christ and the Gospel on the part of the Jews was precisely the Cross because it was considered a curse. How could a crucified, defeated, and failed man be the Messiah Israel had been waiting for centuries? The cross is the hindrance to believing in Jesus.

 

Paul says so in his letter to the Corinthians: "The cross is a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the pagans." We have the gesture of the sign of the cross as our symbol; we repeat it all the time to say to ourselves and others that we have adhered to the proposal that Jesus made, but the early Christians did not have the cross as a symbol. 

This was only by the time of Constantine, after discovering the Holy Sepulcher, a golden cross was erected on Calvary. From then on, it became the symbol of the Christians. Before this, the anchor and the fish were the symbols Christians had, as the Chi Rho, which is a Christian symbol for "Christ," which is written by overlapping the two Greek letters "Chi (X)" and "Rho (P)," which are the first two Greek letters of the name "CHRIST;" the peacock, the pelican, the alpha and the omega were also used, but not the cross. 

A very famous graffiti is found in the 'pedagogium' of the Palatine. What was the pedagogium? It was a kind of school for the training of imperial pages. What is written on this graffiti? First of all, you see a crucified man with the head of a donkey; there is the cross and then the inscription: "Alexamenos worships his god." In all likelihood, this Alexamenos was a brother of our faith who was mocked by his fellow imperial pagans because he worshipped a crucified man. 

Think of Paul, who was chosen by the community of Antioch along with Barnabas to go and preach the Gospel to the Gentiles to his co-religionists, the Jews who were scattered throughout the world, and so he went through all the synagogues of the cities of the Roman Empire to announce to them that the Messiah had come. Imagine the joy that this brings to say that the Messiah has come, but when you add that he was condemned and killed and died on the cross, no wonder they drove Paul out of the synagogues. 

One of the greatest efforts of the early Christians was to help people to perceive that the cross was not a scandal, not a folly, but an expression of love and wisdom of God. This was not easy, and this was the beginning of the catechesis that he was addressing to the primitive communities and us today through the transfiguration narrative. This is the answer to the riddle of the crucifixion.

What happens? Jesus takes with him Peter, James, and John and takes them apart to a high mountain. These are biblical images that we will now try to decipher and understand, because it's the path we must also walk to find an answer to this mystery. The steps to follow are these if you want to understand how a failed and despised man, executed by men is the Messiah of God. The first step to do is to leave the plain where all the people are, where you think by the standards of this world. Let Jesus be with you; let Jesus take you by the hand and go up into the mountain. 

What kind of mountain is this? It's not Mount Tabor, of course. Mountains were the abode of the gods in all religions, and also Israel had the mountain as a symbol of where God is, where God's thoughts are assimilated. That's where Jesus takes his disciples and us if we want to understand this mystery of the cross. It's not a material mountain; it's the moment when you get involved in the thoughts of the disciples and God's way of reasoning, God's feelings. It represents, therefore, the inner experience of this manifestation of God. 

We need to get away from the plain, from the earth, and go up to heaven, where the thoughts of God are far away from the thoughts of the earth. Then, "they alone." The detail is given only by Mark. To assimilate God's way of thinking we need to be alone with Jesus. These moments of intimacy with him are necessary, in silence, in meditation, in prayer, moments in which we let ourselves be enveloped in his way of seeing the world, people, and life. 

The judgmental standards of people are too strong, too deeply rooted in our hearts. Just think of the reaction Peter had; he reacted, and Jesus immediately added: “You think according to men, not according to God.” So, we must move away from vanity, from sayings, from the way of reasoning of people who reason by looking only at realities, to the successes of this world. Take the Gospel in your hand, begin to reflect, form a judgment according to God, reflect, and at the end, you will conclude that the Gospel is right, that to be a person means to follow the Gospel, the way of Jesus, the way of the gift of life, and what he told us is worth risking your life for. 

Now let's listen to what's happening on the mountain: 

 

"And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.” 

 

When you're in the mountains, you can't see things as you used to see them when you were among people and you think like them. On the mountain, Jesus looks different. When you enter into the world of God, you are in attendance of a metamorphosis of his face. He was transfigured before them, not before those on the plain who still see the crucified one as they saw him before. Now on the mountain, they see him transfigured; on the plain, the people see Jesus as a good man, generous, wise, but as a loser, a defeated man, he won no battles, he is not a great person who conquered kingdoms, ascended the throne, and ruled many... nobody wants to be like him because, in the eyes of the world, the crucified one is a failure, a loser. 

What happens on the mountain? That the disfigured face of the crucified takes on a completely different light, that transfigures him; the defeated one on the mountain becomes the winner because greatness is no longer measured as on the plain by the battles won but by the love shown. The garment that Jesus wears: in the plain is the garment of the servant, the loincloth of the slave. In the Greco-Roman society the slave was despised; it was certainly not the ideal to which men aspired. In the mountain, everything changes; the judgments are reversed, the garments of Jesus, that of the slave, that of the one who is to serve, to whom all can give orders when they need, become white, shining. 

The evangelist Mark insists on this whiteness, "such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.” These are biblical images: those of white and light. White is the color that indicates light; light is the first creature of God, the first word that God pronounced: "And he saw that the light was good," and from that moment onwards all people have always appreciated the light. The Qohelet says that people like the light, they like to see the sun, and the clothing of Jesus becomes luminous and splendorous. In biblical language, the clothing indicates the person, what the person looks like on the outside. He's luminous; he's not what people see; he's a failure because he's a servant who has only a loincloth... NO, here he has the shining garment of those who have succeeded in life because success is not the success of battles won but the success of love. 

These colors recall the Passover: "An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled away the stone and sat on it, his appearance was radiance and his clothing white as snow." It is the light from heaven, the light of God, which now illuminates the darkest cave of death and the victory of the life of God over death. And Mark insists on this white color; the only one who mentions that no bleach can make them so white. This is also the clothing that the disciples are to wear. Their whole person must transpire this light which is the light of love; and the fact that the evangelist Mark insists on the white of Jesus' clothing means that no one like him lets the light of God's love shine through, and that this love must now also shine through in his disciples who followed the same path. 

During this incredible experience, two characters appear now. Let's hear who they are: 

 

"Then Elijah and Moses appeared to them, and they conversed with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, ‘Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He hardly knew what to say; they were so terrified.” 

 

What are these two characters doing in the transfiguration story? Both Moses and Elijah had in common the desire to behold the face of God. Moses had asked the Lord, "Show me your glory." And God had answered him, "You cannot see my face, but I will cover you with my hand until I pass by, then I will remove my hand, and you shall see my back, but you cannot see my face.” 

Elijah also wanted to see the face of God. He went up onto the mountain, onto Horeb, and had an experience of God, a shocking experience as he waited; he thought that God would reveal himself in the terrifying forces, in the earthquake, in the strong rushing wind, in the fire; instead, he revealed himself in a gentle breeze. He covered his face and began to understand that God was not as he had imagined; his face was different. 

Both Moses and Elijah had begun to sense something of this face of God, but the full revelation was yet to come. This is what the account of the transfiguration tells us. Now Moses and Elijah can finally behold the face of God in Jesus of Nazareth. Their wishes have been fulfilled. What was written in the Old Testament about the manifestations of God was a preparation for this full revelation. And Peter takes the word; he does not understand anything yet, says the evangelist Mark, he doesn't know what he's saying and asks to make three tents: one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. 

The meaning of these three tents is not easy to determine, but they certainly reference the exodus. Here they indicate Peter's desire to stay there because the one who builds a tent means that he wants to fix his dwelling place in a certain place that he does not want to move. Maybe our spiritual experience can help us to understand what Peter was sensing. 

When we hear the Gospel, we instinctively give assent to what Jesus is revealing to us because we're made right, our inner self tells us that the true person is the one who loves, the one who opens his heart to the needs of his brother, and it would be good to stop there because to go back to the world and to put into practice this new life that we have discovered in the Gospel is complicated. We don't go back willingly to everyday life... the problems, the social conflicts, the family disagreements, the dramas we all must deal with that instilled fear, but a healthy relationship with the Lord does not lead to this isolation. 

There is the time of prayer, the time when we learn to reason by God's standards, but then we must return to the world of people to carry on this light. There's a notation about the disciples being afraid. Why are they afraid? They are afraid because if things are as they have sensed on the mountain, that is, that the one who gives life in the sight of God is the victor, then the life that triumphs and the life of those who love are to be feared. If to be crucified is right, we cannot but be afraid because we are called to lay down our lives as he did. 

And now we have the voice from heaven that clarifies the meaning of the experience that the three disciples had. Let's listen: 

 

"Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, ‘This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.’” 

 

Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to tell anything about what they had seen to anyone except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So, they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant. Peter had asked to be able to build three tents made with men's hands. God responds by enveloping them in a cloud. 

What is this cloud? It is a persistent biblical image in the Old Testament. The book of Exodus, for example, mentions a bright cloud that protected the people of Israel in the wilderness, accompanying them, guiding them along their way, and God had his tent to accompany his people. He also had this tent, which Moses entered to meet the Lord. When Moses went in, a cloud covered this tent, always as a sign of God's presence. Even when Moses goes up the mountain to receive the Torah, a cloud enveloped the mountain. 

The meaning is clear. These three disciples were introduced to the world and the thought of God. By using this imagery, Mark wanted to tell us that Peter, James, and John, in a particularly significant moment, were introduced to the world and the thought of God. They had a special enlightenment which made them understand, or at least intuit, the true identity of the Master and the goal of their path. 

Jesus had not shown himself as the triumphant messiah, which they all expected, but as the one they had been waiting for who, after a bitter conflict, had confronted the religious power, had been harassed, persecuted, and in the end, taken out of the way. At a certain point, these three disciples, enveloped in the cloud, began to realize that they were in the midst of the cloud, that their destiny would also be no different from that of their Master, and they were afraid. 

And out of this cloud, that is, out of God came a voice: "This is my beloved son; listen to him." The voice from heaven is an expression frequently used by the rabbis when they wanted to present how God sees things. Here is how God sees Jesus of Nazareth: crucified, defeated, he sees him as the beloved son. He had already said it at the time of baptism. and here is an addition: "Listen to him." 

What is the meaning of the beloved son? In the Old Testament, in the Jewish culture we find that a son was recognized as such by the father when the father recognized in the son his likenesses; then he would say to him: 'You are my son,' not only by the outward appearance but also by the values cultivated by this son had to be those of the father, so he recognized him as his son. Here we have the Father in Heaven who recognizes in Jesus of Nazareth, the beloved son. 

'if you look at him, you see me, for he is only begotten who perfectly reproduces my face.' The consequence: "Listen to him." To listen, 'Shema,' in Hebrew, does not simply mean to hear with your ears; it means to give your adherence to it. Only the one who gives his adherence and listens to Jesus of Nazareth becomes like him, son or daughter recognized by the Father as one who resembles him. And the resemblance to this Father is given by love. 

I wish you all a good Sunday and a good preparation for Easter.